When the Avanti Windows and Doors USAC/CRA Sprint Car Series returns to Perris Auto Speedway for round #2 of the 2024 season this Saturday night, March 16th, Eddie Tafoya Jr. hopes for a better result than he experienced at the season opener in February. Through no fault of his own, he was knocked out of the 30-lap main event and the tangle cost him a top finish.
After a month and a half off following January’s Chili Bowl Midget Nationals, Tafoya got into his gorgeous #51T for the first time this year on February 24th. He then had a week off before last Friday and Saturday’s Imperial Valley Raceway 360/410 Sprint Cars show during the California Mid-Winter Fair. After this week at Perris, he will journey to Arizona’s Cocopah Speedway for the third round of the USAC/CRA Series. He will wrap up the busy month when he drives one of the Tom & Christy Dunkel-owned Inland Rigging Specials in the first race of the new Ultimate Sprint Car Series at Kevin Harvick’s Kern Raceway on March 30th. It is the first full month of racing in what promises to be an extremely busy 2024.
At last month’s race at Perris, Tafoya, 26, was headed toward the front of the pack in the 30-lap main event when he was clobbered from behind by another car at nearly 100 mph. The bash sent him careening into the inside crash wall on the front straightaway. One look at the car and the crew knew he was done for the night as the front end was torn out.
Last weekend at Imperial, Tafoya raced on Friday and Saturday. Rear-end problems forced him to miss qualifying on the opening night. With repairs made, he started at the back of the eight-lap heat race and advanced forward to finish fifth. In the 20-lap feature, he again started at the back and finished 13th.
Twenty-four hours later, things started much better when the affable Chino Hills, California resident qualified sixth fastest of the 18 cars on hand with a lap of 12.784. A third-place finish in his eight-lap heat race earned him the sixth place starting spot, outside row three, in the 30-lap A main. The friendly racer stayed within the top eight for the first two-thirds of the event. However, a spin necessitated by someone else’s mess late in the going forced him to restart at the back and he finished a frustrating 17th.
Fans can see Tafoya and the remainder of the stars from the Avanti Windows and Doors USAC/CRA Series this Saturday night at Perris Auto Speedway. Spectator gates will open at 5:00 p.m. and the first race will get the green flag at 7:00. Adult tickets for the night of exciting dirt track racing and clean family fun are $30.00. Seniors 65 and over get in for $25.00. For kids 6-12 it is only $5.00, and children 5 and under are admitted free. Advance tickets are available online at https://www.tix.com/ticket-sales/pas/7. They can also be ordered by phone at 1-800-595-4849. For fans who do not wish to purchase tickets in advance, there will be plenty available for everyone at the ticket window on Saturday.
Perris Auto Speedway is conveniently located on the Lake Perris Fairgrounds (home of the Southern California Fair), one hour east of Los Angeles and one hour North of San Diego. To get to the track, take the 215 freeway, exit at the Ramona Expressway, and go three miles east to the fairgrounds. For directions online, the address to enter is: 18700 Lake Perris Drive and the zip code is 92571.
Tafoya is always happy to meet the fans in the pits after every race. He will be signing autographs, posing for photos, and will also have his beautiful team shirts for sale.
If you would like to hear the friendly driver on his 2023 Dirt Tracks and Rib Racks Podcast, please visit the following link https://open.spotify.com/episode/1Hox9dg0iRGXo0szabeqDy
Fans can follow Tafoya on Instagram @eddietafoya51.
Tafoya and the #51T team would like to thank Specialty Fasteners, Inland Rigging, BR Motorsports, King Racing Products, Gasper Transportation, CMI Precision Machining, Owen’s Insurance Services, Keen Concrete, DRC Chassis, and Rider Racing Engines for supporting its racing program.
Eddie Tafoya PR
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